South Carolina and coal

South Carolina had 36 coal-fired generating stations in 2005. In 2009 South Carolina had total installed electricity generation summer capacity of 23,971 megawatts of which 7210 was from coal-fired plants. South Carolina ranks 15th out of the 50 states in terms of coal energy production.

In 2009, South Carolina's coal-fired power plants produced 38.1 million tons of CO2, 105,134 metric tons of sulfur dioxide, and 24,280 tons of nitrogen oxide; power plants were responsible for 47.2% of the state's total CO2 emissions. The state's rankings for 2008, when emissions were higher, was17th for sulphur dioxide, 30th for nitrous oxides and 23rd for carbon dioxide.

In 2005, South Carolina emitted 18.6 tons of CO2 per person, slightly less than the U.S. average. This lower level of CO2 emissions is due in part to the fact that nuclear power represents 28.2% of the state's generating capacity. However, the Energy Information Administration notes that per capita electricity use in South Carolina is higher than the nationwide average, "due in part to high air-conditioning demand during the hot summer months and the widespread use of electricity for home heating in winter." The South Carolina Energy Office stated in 2008 that the state ranked 5th highest electricity consumption per capita in the U.S.

Legislative issues
In February 2009, South Carolina state legislators presented a report to Congress suggesting that strict cap and trade regulations could have a damaging effect on the state, causing brownouts by 2016 and making electricity unaffordable for many South Carolinians. The state lawmakers, including Sen. Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston), argued that because 61 percent of South Carolina's electricity comes from coal-fired power plants, the state would bear a larger burden under new regulations of CO2 emissions than states that use less coal. Combined with its higher-than-average dependence on coal, South Carolina has one of the largest carbon footprints per person in the country.

United States Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that if states like South Carolina want to convince Congress they deserve special consideration, they have to show they are willing to reduce energy consumption. "They need to come up with a statewide plan to help on the consumption area. It’s tough for us to go to our colleagues and say we have a unique situation here, when South Carolina has such a large carbon footprint," he said. Instead, however, South Carolina utility Santee Cooper pushed ahead with plans to the coal-fired Pee Dee Generating Facility. Environmentalists say the state should be putting more emphasis on renewable energy sources.

On March 8, 2010 it was announced that the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control agreed to eliminate arsenic limits in a wastewater discharge permit for South Carolina Electric & Gas Company's (SCE&G) Wateree Station. SCE&G needs State approval for its coal ash ponds because wastewater from the site runs directly into the Wateree River. The ponds take waste from the company's 40-year-old coal-fired plant. Since the 1990s, high levels of arsenic, a carcinogen, have been found in groundwater and in seepage to the Wateree River from coal ash ponds at the power plant. Sierra Club and other environmental groups are posing to fight the permit on the grounds that arsenic ought not be eliminated.

History
There is no history of coal mining in South Carolina; the state has insignificant coal reserves. The state's coal power plants were largely built in the 1960's and 70's, by South Carolina Electric & Gas (a private corporation) and Santee Cooper (a public utility). The U.S. Energy Information Administration states that "coal-fired power plants rely on supplies shipped from Kentucky, and, to a lesser extent, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Tennessee."

A review of the origin and transportation of coal, the Energy Information Administration stated that South Carolina consumed 10.1 million short tons of coal in 2005, of which 8.2 million came by rail from Kentucky. All but 66,000 tonnes was delivered by rail from Eastern Kentucky. The administration also stated that none came from Pennsylvania. It also reported that 136,000 short tones from Virginia, all delivered by rail, and 955,000 short tons from West Virginia. Of the latter 945,000 short tons was delivered by railways and 10,000 short tons by river.

Proposed coal plants
There are currently no active proposals for new coal fired power stations. The two most recent proposals were the Marion City Project in Marion City, which never progress beyond a notional proposal, and the Pee Dee Generating Facility in Kingsburg, which was cancelled following public opposition.

Pee Dee Generating Facility proposal
The Pee Dee Generating Facility was proposed in April 2006 by Santee Cooper, a state-owned electric and water utility. The utility proposed that a 600 megawatt pulverized coal-fired power station costing $984 million be built near the Great Pee Dee River in Florence County, South Carolina, near Kingsburg. It was proposed that the plant would draw cooling water from the nearby Pee Dee River for its supercritical boilers; this river drains into the Waccamaw National Wildlife Reserve.

Following sustained community opposition (see below) to the project, on February 11, 2009, Governor Mark Sanford came out against the project. In announcing his decision, the governor cited expectations of tougher environmental regulations, rising coal prices, and a weak economy. Sanford said the cost of the plant could double because of restrictions on mercury emissions and expected caps on carbon dioxide emissions.

Despite Gov. Sanford's position, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control upheld Santee Cooper's air quality permit on Thursday, February 12, 2009.

Despite this approval, in August 2009 the company announced that the project had been suspended. On August 24, 2009, the board voted to suspend plans for the plant. As reasons for the cancellation, Santee Cooper CEO Lonnie Carter cited a decrease in electricity demand related to the economic downturn and pending cap-and-trade legislation that could greatly increase the operating costs of coal-fired power plants.

November 18, 2008: Activists protest Santee Cooper
Student activists gathered outside Johnsonville High School during a public hearing to protest the proposed Pee Dee Generating Facility. Sponsored by Santee Cooper, the project would include two 600MW pulverized coal-fired power plants along the Great Pee Dee River in Florence County, South Carolina. The activists brought with them a black inflatable coal plant similar to a jump castle, with a sign saying "CLEAN UP DIRTY COAL PLANTS NOW." The public hearing concerned water quality. Santee Cooper's environmental impact study for the plant acknowledged that despite the utility's best efforts, some toxic materials will end up in the river.

February 12, 2009: Residents protest proposed Santee Cooper Plant: Florence County, SC
More than 100 residents of Florence County, SC brought an inflatable smokestack to the courthouse to protest the permit that was granted to Santee Cooper to build the Pee Dee Generating Facility on the banks of the Great Pee Dee River. The plant would emit over 11 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, as well as 60 different toxic pollutants, including arsenic, dioxins, heavy metals, mercury, and selenium.

Existing coal plants
South Carolina had 36 coal-fired generating units at 12 locations in 2005, with 6,469 MW of capacity - representing 26.8% of the state's total electric generating capacity.

Click on the locations shown on the South Carolina map for plant details:

Here is a list of coal power plants in South Carolina with capacity over 300 MW: These nine plants represent 81.5% of South Carolina's coal energy generating capacity, 51.5% of the state's total CO2 emissions, and 61.9% of its total SO2 emissions.

Arsenic disposal at Wateree Station
On March 8, 2010 it was announced that the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control agreed to eliminate arsenic limits in a wastewater discharge permit for South Carolina Electric & Gas Company's (SCE&G) Wateree Station. SCE&G needs State approval for its coal ash ponds because wastewater from the site runs directly into the Wateree River. The ponds take waste from the company's 40-year-old coal-fired plant. Since the 1990s, high levels of arsenic, a carcinogen, have been found in groundwater and in seepage to the Wateree River from coal ash ponds at the power plant. Sierra Club and other environmental groups are posing to fight the permit on the grounds that arsenic ought not be eliminated.

Coal power companies

 * Santee Cooper
 * Headquarters in Moncks Corner, SC
 * 33rd biggest coal energy producer in U.S.
 * Controls 4 coal-fired generating stations with 4043 megawatts installed capacity;
 * SCANA
 * Headquarters in Columbia, SC
 * 34th biggest coal energy producer in U.S.
 * Controls 18 coal-fired generating stations with 2882 MW total capacity

Duke might close seven coal units in the Carolinas
In September 2010, Duke Energy said it might close seven coal-fired units at its Carolinas power plants within five years as environmental regulations intensify. It may retire by 2015 all coal-fired units for which it's not economical to install sulfur dioxide controls called scrubbers. That would increase by 890 megawatts the coal plants Duke had planned to retire in 2009. The retired units would be at Duke's Riverbend Steam Station in Gaston County, Buck Steam Station in Rowan County, and Lee Steam Plant in Anderson County, S.C. Duke said it might convert Lee from coal to natural gas fuel.

Duke has already agreed to retire 800 megawatts of older coal units as part of an N.C. permit to build a new 825-megawatt unit under construction at the Cliffside Plant in Rutherford County. That will shutter four old units at Cliffside, two at Buck, three at Dan River Steam Station, and two at Riverbend.

Duke's projections show the amount of its electricity generated with coal falling from 42 percent in 2011 to 29 percent in 2030. The share from nuclear power, in contrast, stays steady at 51 percent. The utility continues to plan for a new nuclear plant, its first since the mid-1980s, to open in Gaffney, S.C., in about 2020. Duke is also building two gas-fired power plants, to open at Buck in late 2011 and at Dan River in late 2012.

Coal Exports
With coal exports increasing along the US East Coast, the Charleston, SC Shipyard River Terminal coal export facility, owned by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, is in the process of expansion. In May, 2011, CSX railroads confirmed plans to expand export facilities by 7 million short tons per year, probably in Philadelphia starting in 2011 and in South Carolina by 2013.

Coal Waste
In November 2010, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) said it wanted the state to retain responsibility of regulating the disposal of coal ash. The state's position, outlined in a Nov. 17 letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), came in response to ongoing EPA proposals to reclassify coal ash as a hazardous waste, which would set federal standards for regulating how the material is disposed of. DHEC "believes that its existing regulatory programs adequately address the management and disposal of coal [ash] and that additional regulation by the EPA is unnecessary," the letter said. Supporters of the EPA proposal, including environmental advocates at the Coastal Conservation League, say the EPA could offer stricter regulation of the ash, which can contain arsenic, selenium, cadmium, chromium and other heavy metals and potentially toxic metals. If the ash contaminates the water supply, it could cause cancer, neurological damage and other illnesses, they said. Their support for strict regulation intensified following 2009 reports that a local water supply near the company's Canadys Station in Colleton County allegedly had been tainted with coal ash residue.

In May, 2011, South Carolina Electric & Gas agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle an environmental cleanup case in Charleston near the South Carolina Aquarium. The contaminated area was the site of a coal gas plant (also known as a manufactured gas plant) that operated until 1957 and left the ground polluted with liquid coal tar.

In July, 2011, South Carolina Dept. of Health and Environmental Control dropped plans to study mercury contamination in the state's waters and the effect mercury has on people due to budget cuts.

Study questions coal-fired power plant job numbers
In a report released in late March 2011 by the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies in Chattanooga, Tennessee shows that coal-fired power plants often do not reach predicted counts of construction and permanent jobs.

The Center analyzed the largest coal-powered plants that became operational between 2005 and 2009. At those six locations -- in Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, South Carolina and Wisconsin -- analyses of employment data and labor retention rates showed that only the plant in Iowa had an increase in construction employment that matched the predicted level. The others did not reach the numbers predicted.

Citizen groups

 * Coastal Conservation League
 * Conservation Voters of South Carolina
 * Sierra Club South Carolina Chapter
 * South Carolina Wildlife Federation

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Existing U.S. Coal Mines
 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants
 * US proposed coal plants (both active and cancelled)
 * Coal plants cancelled in 2007
 * Coal plants cancelled in 2008
 * Profiles of other states (or click on the map)

External resources

 * U.S. Energy Information Administration, "South Carolina", U.S. Department of Energy, accessed March 2011.
 * U.S. Energy Information Administration, "South Carolina Electricity Profile: 2008", U.S. Department of Energy, March 2010.